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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Spotlight On...Cory Finley

Education: Yale UniversityFavorite Credits:The Private Sector with Less Than Rent, Animals in Ars Nova's ANT Fest, Ugly People and Lulz at Yale.

Why theater?: Because I like telling stories in public and theater is the most direct and uncomplicated way to do so

Tell us about Brenda:BRENDA is a play about a young man who's run away from his chaotic Kentucky family to create a new, lonely life in Denver. He misses his mother's funeral and the beginning of the play, an event the triggers a series of bizarre supernatural transformations in his life. Soon he and two friends are launched into an increasingly surreal cross-country road trip.It is, I hope, a taut, funny, occasionally lyrical, always-surprising 90-minute play.

What inspired you to create Brenda?: It's an idea that I've been developing for around a year with my director, Ashley Rodbro. We started with only a general interest in the concept of Identity and some bits of stray paperwork from an actual physical-therapy-school exam. We've come a long way. What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Stuff that's gripping, unpredictable, and restrained. I've been on a big Caryl Churchill kick for about three years now. If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Can I say R. Kelly? What show have you recommended to your friends?: "Chopped" on the Food Network. Also anything the Wooster Group does.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Tom Cruise; "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol."

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Televised basketball -- go Knicks! If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Making more money than I am now!!What’s up next?: I'm diving back into one of my first plays, The Private Sector at the Icicle Creek Theater Festival in Leavenworth, WA, and at ACT Theater, Seattle.